Chevy Chase helping to raise money for Opus 40

Tuesday

Jun 11, 2013 at 2:51 PMJun 11, 2013 at 3:08 PM

The storm-collapsed section of Harvey Fite's six-acre Opus 40 bluestone sculpture will be restored to its original beauty this summer, thanks to masons from the Santa Fe Stone Foundation, funded by the star-studded Opus 40 Preservation Brunch on June 23.

Deborah Medenbach

The hurricane-collapsed section of Harvey Fite's six-acre Opus 40 bluestone sculpture will be restored to its original beauty this summer, thanks to masons from the Santa Fe Stone Foundation, funded by the star-studded Opus 40 Preservation Brunch on June 23.

Comedian Chevy Chase and his wife Jayni are special guests with a longstanding connection to the site, which endured damage from Hurricane Irene in 2011. Chase's mother and Fite's wife Barbara were close friends, and the Chase family summered on an adjoining property, often scrambling over the bluestone walls with current Opus 40 director and Fite stepson Tad Richards.

“Chevy's brother John Cederquist joined our board when he heard about the calamity here and called Chevy about doing a fundraiser and he immediately said yes,” Richards said. The Chases have invited friend Steve Martin to come along, since he and his band, the Steep Canyon Rangers, joined by singer Edie Brickell, perform that night at Ulster Performing Arts Center. Brickell's husband, famed musician Paul Simon, will likely be at her side, Richards said.

“Opus 40 is a sacred place for us,” Cederquist said. “The cataclysmic collapse happened right in the same place that Harvey Fite died years ago. That was a poignant factor for me.”

Organizers hope the preservation event will not only raise the $50,000 needed for this summer's restoration efforts of the center ramp and collapsed wall, but also will endow future stabilization efforts.

“Everything ties back to this ecologically responsible sculpture that was built from the ruins of a quarry that built the sidewalks of New York,” Cederquist said. “I used to beg Harvey to let me place a stone, but then it wouldn't be one man's artwork. So he'd let me and Chevy rake leaves. We'd do anything to be involved in maintaining it, even as children. Now we're adults with real resources and can help in a substantial way.”

Chevy and Jayni Chase will be acknowledged by Catskill Mountainkeeper at Barnfest 2013, scheduled for noon June 22 at Andy Lee Field in Woodstock.